SSWH16 The student will
demonstrate an understanding
of long-term causes of World
War I and its global impact.
LONG-TERM CAUSES OF WWI:
M. A. I. N.
MILITARISM:
• 
Glorification of the military; war was made to be romantic
• 
Countries feel threatened, start building up military
• 
Navy was most important branch to build up
Alliances
• European nations
signed alliances with
one another
promising to defend
each other if attacked
• These alliances led to
widespread distrust
among nations
ALLIANCES:
Feeling threatened by expansion & industrialization, countries began to form
alliances with each other in case of war
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
(CENTRAL POWERS):
TRIPLE ENTENTE
(ALLIED POWERS):
•  GERMANY
•  FRANCE
•  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
•  RUSSIA
•  OTTOMAN
•  GREAT
•  BULGARIA
EMPIRE
(1917)
BRITAIN
•  UNITED
STATES (1917)
•  SERBIA
•  ITALY
(LATER)
IMPERIALISM:
• 
Competition to gain more territory with access to more natural
resources and build the largest empire led to tension among
nations
NATIONALISM:
• 
Strong sense of pride for one’s country
• 
Big in France & Germany
• 
Strong nationalism in Russia that caused Austria-Hungry to feel threatened
• 
Balkan region: highest area of tension due to nationalism (known as the
“powder keg of Europe”
a. Identify the causes of the war;
include Balkan nationalism,
entangling alliances, and militarism.
• Balkan nationalism:
Many countries* in the
Balkans wanted to extend
and protect their borders
- Groups within these
countries wanted to fight
Austria to gain ethnic
territory
*Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia are
located in the Balkan region*
Balkan Region
SHORT-TERM CAUSE OF WWI:
•  Assassination
of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand (Austria)
•  Sarajevo,
•  June
Bosnia
28, 1914
•  Assassin:
Gavrilo Princip
•  Member
of the Black Hand,
Serbian nationalist group
•  Austria
Serbia
declares war on
ALLIANCES KICK IN:
•  Austria-Hungary
Germany
calls on
•  Serbia
asked Russia for help
•  Russia
asks France for help
•  Germany
France
•  Germany
declares war on
invades Belgium,
Great Britain declares war on
Germany
WORLD WAR 1:
CONDITIONS ON
THE HOME FRONT
WESTERN FRONT:
• 
Germany v. France
• 
Began digging trenches to protect their armies from enemy fire (trench
warfare)
• 
Caused a stalemate; battle lines remained unchanged in France for 4 years
BATTLE OF VERDUN:
• 
February 21-December 18, 1916
• 
Lasts 10 months
• 
German strategy: to inflict mass casualties on the French in hopes of taking
France
• 
One of the longest & most devastating battles of the war
• 
976,000 deaths
• 
French won
TRENCH WARFARE:
• Aerial
of
trenches
• No
Man’s Land
“going over the top” was the only way to take territory
“trench foot”
EASTERN FRONT:
• 
Germany v. Russia
• 
Russia was the least industrialized great power during WWI
• 
Poorly equipped to fight a modern war
• 
Russia left war in 1917 due to revolution
NEW MODERN TECHNOLOGY:
•  Machine
•  Long
guns
range artillery gun
•  Poison
gas
•  Tanks
•  Airplanes
•  Submarines
(U-boats)
THE END:
• 
USA joins Allies, helps Allied Powers win
• 
Germany signed an armistice on Nov. 11, 1918 at 11 AM
• 
Paris Peace Conference:
*victories Allies met in Paris to decide Europe’s fate
*”Big Four:” US, France, Britain, Italy
*Wilson wanted “peace without victory”
*Fourteen Points
*League of Nations
c. Explain the major decisions made in the
Versailles Treaty; include German
reparations and the mandate system that
replaced Ottoman control.
Versailles Treaty (1919)
• German Reparations:
-Germany had to
admit total guilt for
starting the war
-Germany made to
pay for the war,
money they didn’t
have
-German navy and
army limited in size
• Mandate system:
-Territories of
Germany and the
Ottoman Empire,
were taken away, and
governed by the
League of Nations
until they could
establish selfgovernment
Wilson’s 14 Points and the League
of Nations
• Woodrow Wilson proposed 14 Points, or ideas
during the Versailles talks including the
formation of the League of Nations
• The League would meet to try and prevent
further world conflicts
• Though European countries joined the League,
Congress voted against it
EUROPE IN SHAMBLES:
•  Because
of stress of war,
governments collapsed in:
1. Russia
2. Germany
3. Austria-Hungary
4. Ottoman Empire
HAPSBURG DYNASTY:
•  Family
that ruled in
Austria-Hungary for
many centuries
•  Collapsed
after WWI
due to food shortages,
unstable government,
influenced by Russian
Revolution, and toll of
war
COST OF WAR:
• 
More than 8.5 million men died in battle
• 
About 18 million had been wounded, many left disabled for life
• 
6-13 million civilians lost their lives
• 
Most countries put all their money & resources into war, were left poor and
dissatisfied (about $208 million)
• 
Lost an entire generation of men